Hi N.N. Light’s Book Heaven Community,
My name is Raemi A. Ray the author of the Martha’s Vineyard Murders series. I’m chatting with you today talking about the release of the second installment in the series, The Wraith’s Return.
In Wraith the main character, Kyra Gibson returns to Martha’s Vineyard. She, along with the rest of the cast, Tarek, Gully, Charlie, and Grace, as well as some new folks, unravel a mystery surrounding a centuries’ old pirate shipwreck and the sabotage of the salvaging efforts to raise it from the seafloor. There is suspense, a bit of humor, lots of twists and turns, red herrings and whatever color true clue herrings are - blue? Yes, I like that. Blue herrings. It’s a read for an afternoon under an umbrella by the seaside. Perhaps with an Aperol spritz or a prosecco.
I love the concept of a beach read. It’s permission to set aside your real life and get lost in a book while taking in sunshine and views of the ocean. Personally, I’m an ocean girl. I love the crash of the waves on sand and the call of the birds, the inconvenience and ritual of lugging all your stuff to and fro. I know there are just as many lake people and boat people, and with both salt and fresh bodies of water, I think the Vineyard would resonate with everyone. If you love water views, you’ll love Martha’s Vineyard.
Speaking of water views, if you’re not familiar with it, Martha’s Vineyard is a real-life tiny island off the coast of Massachusetts in the northeastern United States. I’ve been visiting the island regularly for the last twenty years and have completely fallen in love with it and its people.
It’s such a unique place. For starters, it’s a glacial island, meaning it was left behind when the glaciers receded sometime after one of the ice ages. As such, it has a diverse and complex geology that supports all sorts of plants and animals, especially sea birds. It’s true that bird watchers come to catch glimpses of sandpipers, ibises, eagles, falcons, and hawks. You can even see the storm petral which in reality isn’t that uncommon.
In The Wraith’s Return, I wanted to celebrate the island’s diverse landscape. The characters traipse all over the island giving the reader peeks of its many highlights. They go from South Beach, to the little villages of Vineyard Haven, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, and Menemsha and, eventually, they make it all the way up island to the famous clay cliffs at Gay Head. I try to stay as true to the landscape as I can and hope I’ve captured the magic of the island in my descriptions. However, occasionally, I do have to embellish and take a little creative license to increase suspense and tension. I’m very sorry to say, that there are no sea caves or a Lost Beach hidden in the coves – at least not that I’ve found. There are lighthouses though, five of them and they really did move one a few years ago.
That said, even without the sea caves, the island is amazing, and I encourage you to visit and see for yourselves.
Are you an ocean or a lake person? Would prefer to relax on a boat? Or perhaps the mountains? Where is your ideal “beach read” place and what is your favorite beach read? I’m heading on a vacation soon and need the recommendations.
Thank you N.N. Lights for the opportunity to guest post. It’s so nice to meet your lovely community and I hope you all enjoy reading The Wraith’s Return as much as I did writing it.
Until the next ferry over ~ Raemi
Title: The Wraith’s Return, a Martha’s Vineyard Murders Book 2
Author: Raemi A. Ray
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Tule Publishing, Inc.
Book Blurb:
Some secrets are safer lost as sea…
London based lawyer Kyra Gibson returns to Martha’s Vineyard and the beach house she inherited for an extended summer holiday. Still reeling from her father’s brutal murder and the role she and the handsome detective, Tarek Collins played in uncovering it, Kyra is hopeful for some peace and quiet. But when a summer squall reveals the wreckage of the pirate ship, Keres, rich with rumored treasure, all hopes of peace are dashed. Conservationists and treasure hunters descend on the exclusive island to lay claim to the ship. When two of the salvagers are killed, Kyra and Tarek’s friend, pub owner and amateur historian, Gully Gould is arrested for murder.
Determined to prove Gully’s innocence, Kyra, Tarek, and reformed playboy Chase Hawthorn team up to clear their friend’s name. But someone wants the treasure for themselves. And with someone willing to kill for it, there is more than just danger lurking along the island’s caves and coves. There is death.
Excerpt:
“Flight attendants, prepare for landing.”
Kyra Gibson jerked awake, startled by the pilot’s staticky voice over the comms system. She hadn’t meant to doze off on the short flight from New York’s JFK Airport to Martha’s Vineyard. She peeked out her window, hoping for a glimpse of the tiny New England island that would be her home for the next several months, but she could only see miles and miles of the Atlantic Ocean’s white-capped waves.
A pathetic mew drew her attention to her travel companion, crammed into the largest cat carrier she could find. His bottle green eyes stared up at her. Kyra reached down to scratch his snowy ears through the carrier flap and was awarded a toothy yawn.
“We’ll be there shortly, Cronkers,” she crooned, trying to soothe the hell spawn she’d inherited from her father along with his island home.
The plane gave a shudder as the landing gear descended. It dipped and banked. Kyra sucked in a breath and clutched the armrests. Bloody hell, I hate flying. In truth, flying didn’t bother her much, but she found the taking off and landing parts … unpleasant. Her stomach flip-flopped. She unfolded the newspaper and scanned the headlines in an attempt to distract herself from the turbulent descent.
No good news. Political disruption, Russia being Russia, stock market volatility, a violent environmental protest in Florida. A blurb caught her eye and her lips stretched into a soft smile. It was an article about the return of a rare bird to Cape Cod and the Islands, and the influx of bird watchers.
“Are you here to see the petrels?”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Amazon: https://a.co/d/hggyeEn
Barnes & Noble: https://tinyurl.com/yuvdwwzv
Apple Books: https://tinyurl.com/422umsw4
Google Books: https://tinyurl.com/44565ur2
GoodReads: https://tinyurl.com/bdz6xvma
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-wraith-s-return-martha-s-vineyard-murders-book-2-by-raemi-a-ray
Author Biography
Raemi A. Ray is the author of the Martha’s Vineyard Murders series. Her travels to the island and around the world inspire her stories. She lives with her family in Boston.
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